


Secluded

by babyfox (pixeljeno)



Category: NCT (Band), NCT 127 - Fandom, NCT Dream
Genre: Cabin, Death, Gay Male Character, Horror, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Undead, woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24632047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixeljeno/pseuds/babyfox
Summary: "Did you take a walk in the woods, last night?""Of course not. Why?""I just...I thought I saw someone outside and you...you weren't in bed with me...""You were probably just seeing things."In which Donghyuck begins to act strange amidst unsettling occurrences, and Mark is determined to get answers.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Mark Lee, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	1. breakfast

"Wake up, sleepyhead," a sweet voice hums.

The sleeping man slowly awakens, his eyes struggling to open as he comes to.

"C'mon, Mark, it's time for breakfast," a tanned man with chocolate brown hair and a soft smile beams down at him as he straddles him, "I'm hungry."

"You know how to cook. Make your own food, Donghyuck," Mark groans as he watches how the sunlight seems to make Donghyuck glow, rather than turn him into a silhouette. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking.

"But I want you to make it for me," Donghyuck pouts.

Mark lets out a sleepy groan as he tries to stretch his arms above his head. Donghyuck catches his wrists in his hands and grins. Mark raises an eyebrow at him, earning a light chuckle. Donghyuck leans down and catches Mark's lips in a soft kiss. Mark smiles into it, feeling his heart flutter.

"Fine," he murmurs, "But you have to get off me, first."

"Yes, sir," Donghyuck chimes as he rolls off of him and allows him to get up.

Mark lugs himself out of bed and stretches once more as a loud yawn escapes him. He makes his way to the bedroom door, suddenly being stopped by the sound of Donghyuck's voice.

"Wait...you're not gonna get dressed?" he inquires as his eyes look Mark up and down, examining him in his choice sleepwear: a pair of white boxers with pale blue pinstripes.

"Nah, I don't feel like it, today," Mark shrugs it off.

"Hm...Looks like I get breakfast and a show, today," Donghyuck teases him.

"Shut up," Mark chuckles with a shake of his head. He then turns around and exits the bedroom to fulfill Donghyuck's request.


	2. placid

Mark sits on the porch steps, taking in the beautiful landscape of the woods around him as he sips on his mug filled to the brim with piping hot coffee.

Sunlight seeps through the trees, allowing for bright rays to put small spotlights on different patches of dirt and leaves with the occasional peppering of grass. Though many of the trees still have their leaves of varying shades of orange and brown, the ground is practically covered with dead leaves that crunch loudly beneath your feet. Birds chirp in the distance through the soft sound of a light breeze rustling the trees. It was a placid experience.

A small squirrel with dark brown fur goes darting from one tree to another. It pauses and sticks its large, bushy tail up in the air, then darts directly for a tiny shed that piques Mark's interest. It's made of some sort of metal that's corroded and rusted away. There appear to be windows, but they are boarded up. The doors to the shed are given a similar treatment with a few boards nailed across. Even more peculiar is the fact that the boards seem to be...new...Overall, the shed is indescribably ugly and a sore thumb amidst the beautiful landscape around the quaint little cabin Mark and Donghyuck live in. Still, Mark couldn't help but wonder what was inside.

The door behind Mark suddenly opens, nearly startling him. He turns to find Donghyuck rubbing his eyes in the doorway.

"Ah, you're awake. I saw you fell back asleep before I could finish cooking breakfast, so I left you alone," Mark mentions as he smiles warmly at Donghyuck as the younger shuffles over to him. Donghyuck plops down on the step, sitting beside him as he lets out a loud yawn. He then rests his head on Mark's shoulder and looks out at the woods.

"I'm sorry for not eating with you. I guess I was more tired than I thought I was," he murmurs.

"It's okay, baby. It happens. I'm just glad you got enough sleep," Mark responds as he delicately rubs Donghyuck's thigh with his left hand as he attempts to take a drink of his coffee with his right.

Donghyuck lifts his head and looks to Mark with a softened gaze. He makes eye contact with him and grins without the ability to stop.

"I love you," Donghyuck utters quietly.

"I love you, too," Mark rubs circles into his thigh with his thumb.

"I know."

Mark leans in and plants a gentle kiss to Donghyuck's lips before returning his attention to the woods.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"I could name something else that's more beautiful."

"Gah, don't be cheesy," Mark laughs as his smile widens.

"You didn't even ask what it is," Donghyuck points out.

"Alright, fine. What's more beautiful?"

"Me."

Mark laughs hysterically at this, nearly spilling his coffee as he leans forward.

"Oh shit," he cackles as he sets the cup down on the step just below the one he and Donghyuck sit on. He turns to Donghyuck as he attempts to calm down, and he sees an amused grin on his face. "I can't say you're wrong, though."

Donghyuck scrunches his nose cutely, and it makes Mark's heart melt.

"Thank you," he hums, "You're pretty cute, too."

Mark chuckles and shakes his head.

"Thanks," he responds before quickly changing the subject, "How about we go for a small walk, hm? It's a nice day. I'd love to just-

"No," Donghyuck says hastily, causing Mark to feel slightly offended by how quickly he was shut down, "I mean...I don't think walking around in the middle of the woods is a good idea right now."

"Why not?" Mark furrows his brow.

"Fine...I just thought..." Donghyuck murmurs as he takes Mark's hands in his, "that maybe we could...you know...spend the day in bed...or something..."

"In bed?" Mark questions, and Donghyuck nods slowly, "Well...I guess we could."

The tan male grins at this and pecks Mark's cheek.

"C'mon, then," he urges as he tugs on Mark's hand.

"You go ahead. I'll be in there in just a minute," he assures him.

"You better," Donghyuck points at him with narrowed eyes before returning to his smiling state.


	3. gone

Mark finds himself in a moderate state of consciousness in the middle of the night. He finds himself groggy and barely aware of his surroundings, but just awake enough to want to be nearer to Donghyuck. He scoots forward a bit and reaches his arm out to wrap around him. To his dismay, his arm drops down, landing on bedding as opposed to resting on Donghyuck's waist. Mark opens his eyes and finds that, just as he suspected, Hyuck was gone. He furrows his brow and stares at the empty space. He lets out a small, involuntary grunt as he turns himself onto his back and stares at the door. It has been left closed, though Mark finds it odd how he never woke to the sound of it opening or shutting. He determines that perhaps he was in such a deep sleep at the time that he didn't even notice.

Mark throws back the blankets and slings his legs over the side of the bed. He lugs himself onto his feet and shuffles towards the door with his arms crossed over his chest. He passes by the small window to his right and stops dead in his tracks as he sees something out of the corner of his eye. He turns and peers out into the woods, spotting a silhouette of a what appeared to be a man standing beside the shed. Mark couldn't tell for certain, but something gave him the unsettling feeling that whoever it was that he was seeing was watching the cabin.

No...

They were watching him.

Mark backs away from the window and rushes for his dresser drawer. He yanks open the third drawer and pulls out a red bathrobe. He hastily slips into it and ties the belt as he paces back over to the window. As he checks once more to make certain that the silhouette was still there, he becomes startled by the fact that they now appeared a few feet closer. Mark scrambles backwards as his heart bangs loudly like a drum. He needed to find Donghyuck, and he needed to find him fast. Mark makes a break for the bedroom door and thrashes it open, paying no mind to the fact it slams into the wall.

Mark speeds down the short, narrow hall in a great panic. He stops as he enters into the open living room and jerks his head around in an attempt to see if he could spot Donghyuck.

"Hyuck? Where are you?" he shouts, but there is no answer.

Mark spins on his heel to check the front door, and although it is closed, it is not locked. Mark's stomach sinks at this realization. He turns the cold knob and yanks the door open, hoping Donghyuck wasn't outside with whoever was out there.

"Donghyuck!" he cries out as he steps onto the porch.

No answer.

Mark storms down the steps and becomes fully aware of the fact he is now walking barefoot on dirt and dried leaves that crunch loudly beneath his feet. Still, he wanders towards the shed, finding himself tense as he questions if the individual was still lingering in the same spot they were before. But as Mark inches closer, he realizes that they were not. At this, Mark picks up his pace and reaches the other side of the shed, finding whoever had been there had now vanished.

Did they run?

Were they hiding?

Mark exhales deeply and shakes his head. He turns on his heel and locks his eyes on the entrance to the shed. He stares unblinkingly at it, feeling as if it was somehow beckoning him to come closer. So he does.

Mark takes hesitant steps closer and closer. He reaches out and places his hands on the ice cold metal of the chains and padlock which keep the inside protected from being seen.

A loud bang of a door causes Mark to jump out of his skin in fear. He spins around and spots that the front door was now shut. Mark wastes no time and runs straight for the cabin. He nearly trips on one of the steps on his way up the porch but manages to catch himself before he tumbles to the ground. Mark lets out a sigh of relief upon finding he was still able to open the front door. He enters inside and ensures it's locked this time.

Mark makes his way to the other side of the room where the kitchen resides. He takes one of the large kitchen knives and grips tightly onto it. He keeps his guard up as he quietly makes his way through the cabin. He tiptoes down the hall and makes his way towards the bedroom. The door is still open, though it's merely halfway open rather than fully. He cautiously pushes open the door and looks around, only to find no one is there. No one except Donghyuck who now lies in bed on his side, sleeping soundly. Mark blinks several times as he tries to ration what had happened.

Who was outside? Where did they go? Why hadn't the door been locked? Who closed the door? If Donghyuck was in the house, why didn't he respond to his name being called out? How was Donghyuck asleep?

The only logical answer Mark could think of was that maybe Donghyuck had gone for a walk and unintentionally scared him. Either that or he had purposely intended to scare him, but both of those theories only posed more questions. Still, it satisfies most of his questions, and it gives him more peace of mind to think that Donghyuck was behind this.

Mark determines that, either way, he was better off sleeping with a weapon nearby. He recalls having a handgun somewhere, but he couldn't think of where exactly he last left it, and he does not particularly feel he has the energy to try to find it, tonight. He decides to sleep with the knife beneath his pillow, since doing so was better than nothing.

Mark slips the knife under his pillow and crawls slowly in bed beside Donghyuck.


	4. seeing things

As dawn breaks and the first few rays of sunlight seep in through the windows, Mark finds himself still very much awake. Although he tried to rest, anxious thoughts would fill his head, and he could only lie in bed questioning what had happened that night and if there was an intruder in the house.

A quiet yawn alerts Mark to Donghyuck's slow awakening. He watches as he turns over to face Mark and smiles warmly at him.

"You're up early," he remarks before his expression slowly falls, "You look exhausted...Did you sleep last night?"

"Honestly?" Mark speaks in a quiet voice, "No."

"Mark," disappointment saturates Donghyuck's voice, "Why not?"

"I just..." Mark starts before determining it was best to ask his pressing question, "Did you take a walk in the woods, last night?"

Donghyuck narrows his eyes in confusion and shakes his head slightly as he props himself up onto his elbow.

"Of course not. Why?"

Sickness slowly creeps its way up Mark's throat at this response. Was Donghyuck playing some sort of sick prank on him? Was he telling the truth?

"I just...I thought I saw someone outside and you...you weren't in bed with me..." he mentions.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and waves his hand in a dismissive manner.

"You were probably just seeing things," he brushes his concerns off, "Better yet, you were probably just having one of your nightmares again. You've been having a lot of those for the past month or so."

"Nightmares?" Mark questions, and Donghyuck nods. Mark couldn't recall having nightmares before, nor did last night's events feel like a dream as opposed to real life. He slips his hand under his pillow, feeling the relatively cool metal of the knife's blade against his fingertips.

No...whatever happened last night was real. He was certain of it.

"No, it was real. I saw someone. I walked outside to the shed to look for them, but they ran away. Or...or something like that," Mark insists.

"Mark...we're living in a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods...the only people here are you and me," Donghyuck says slowly.

"I know what I saw!" Mark snaps. Regret instantly fills his body and he covers his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay..." the younger murmurs softly.

Silence befalls the two as Mark tries his best to move past his outburst of anger. He decides to ask about yet another pressing inquiry on his mind.

"Hyuck? Do you know why the shed is all boarded up and chained up?" he questions.

Donghyuck blinks slowly at him a few times before responding.

"It's been that way for a while."

"Yes, but why? What's in there?"

"I think you need to not be so concerned about a rotting old shed. It's creepy and old. End of story."

"Don't you want to know what's inside?" Mark presses, but this question seems to flip a switch in Donghyuck. The smaller turns deathly serious and stares at him with such intensity that it bores holes into Mark's soul.

"You already promised you wouldn't go in there. I suggest you keep that promise," he says darkly. This sends a chill down Mark's spine: one which seeps deep into his bones and makes him physically shiver.

Suddenly, Donghyuck smiles kindly once more.

"Can you make me breakfast? I'm starving," he requests brightly before giving him a soft pout.

Still stunned from Donghyuck's former remark, Mark stares blankly at him.

It was then that Mark was absolutely convinced that the younger man was trying to scare him. What didn't make sense was why he was carrying the prank on for so long. Still, Mark takes this as confirmation that there was, in fact, no intruder last night. There was no threat. Only Donghyuck being an asshole. With this realization, he sighs deeply and shakes his head, finally feeling the ability to put his mind at ease once more.

It's then that he finally answers:

"Yeah, sure."


	5. questions

"I'm gonna head to bed. You coming?" Donghyuck asks as they lie on their dark brown, suede sofa with Mark on his back and Hyuck lying on top of him with his head on his chest.

"Nah, not yet. I've gotta finish a few last-minute chores before I go. You can wait for me," Mark explains with a sigh.

"I can't promise anything. I'm pretty tired," Donghyuck chuckles.

"If you fall asleep before I get there, then you fall asleep. I won't be mad," Mark insists.

Donghyuck smiles warmly up at him and scoots himself up further to give him a gentle kiss. But something felt wrong. The kiss felt almost...empty.

"Don't stay up too late," Donghyuck hums, "I love you."

"I love you, too. Goodnight," Mark murmurs, and Donghyuck rolls himself off of him. He gets up and shuffles off down the hall.

Mark listens closely and waits until he hears the soft click of their door shutting before leaping to his feet and sprints towards a small bookcase in the corner of the room. He snatches a fairly large black flashlight and paces towards the front door. He shoves his feet crudely into his sneakers as he glances down the hall with a sense of urgency coursing through his body. He unlocks the door and yanks it open. Not wanting to make any noise, Mark softly closes it behind himself and lets out a sigh of relief when only a small sound is made. He clicks the button on his flashlight and a bright beam of light shines from it onto the leaf-covered ground. He didn't know where he was going, he only knows that he needs to investigate the surrounding area of the cabin.

Mark sets out on his trek, opting to take a left rather than a right as to avoid walking past his and Donghyuck's bedroom window. He rounds the corner and spots a tree stump with large logs piled up next to it. Only a small few have been split and put into a new pile.

Mark notices something several feet away near a large rock. He cautiously approaches as he keeps his light on the object. Once he reaches it, he's met with the relief of seeing that it's only the axe for chopping the wood, but this relief is washed away completely with the sudden realization that not only does the blade of the axe have dried blood on it but so does the rock.

A wave of nausea crashes over Mark as he questions who's blood it was and why it was there. He doesn't remember there being blood on the axe the last time he had used it. How long ago had he used it? Was he the last one to use it? Or was it Donghyuck? Why couldn't he remember?

Mark begins to feel an intense, overwhelming urge to run far away from the cabin. He takes short laboured breaths as he slowly backs away from the scene. Before he can convince himself to continue investigating, Mark was halfway back to the cabin's front door.

Upon reaching the door, Mark fumbles with the knob, but still manages to open it. He dashed inside and shuts it firmly before locking it and slamming his back against it.

While Mark takes a minute to catch his breath, he recalls last putting his handgun in the small drawer of the stand beside the door. He turns to it and pulls it open, only to find pointless items like paper clips and a piece of paper that was faced down. He takes it and pulls it out, realizing it was a photo. He glances at it and finds that the picture is not of anyone he or Donghyuck knows. It appears to be of a rich looking man and woman. The woman is kissing his cheek, and her hand reveals some sort of expensive-looking proposal ring that she was clearly showing off.

Mark tries to recall if Donghyuck had mentioned who owned this cabin. He knew it wasn't his, but he couldn't quite remember if he had even mentioned who it belonged to.

Why was his memory failing him so much? And where was his gun? Mark knows he had left it in this drawer. He had been storing it there for weeks. Months, even.

So where did it go?


	6. nothing’s wrong

Mark sits across from Donghyuck at the round dining table. He swirls his soup around with his spoon, trying his best not to clink it against the bowl. He glances towards Donghyuck to find him sitting and mindlessly stirring his own soup as well.

Thoughts swirl in Mark's head like small flecks of 'snow' in a snow globe. He keeps to himself, but the questions that fill his brain are burning to be asked. They dance at the tip of his tongue and refuse to go unheard.

"Hyuck...who's cabin is this?" he finally speaks, unable to remain silent any longer.

Donghyuck snaps up at this. He tilts his head slightly and furrows his brow.

"It was vacant when we got here...Don't you remember?" he asks calmly.

Although Mark wants to believe him, a sinking feeling in his stomach tells him that it wasn't quite as simple as he makes it sound.

"No, not really..." he admits, "I think I've started forgetting things. Like...I tried to find my handgun last night after hearing something, but when I went to grab it from it's usual spot, it was gone."

Donghyuck continues to stare at him without response, forcing Mark to prompt him to speak.

"Do you know where I might've put it?" he inquires as he sets his spoon down on the table.

"No," Donghyuck responds in a monotone.

"No? That's it?" Mark scoffs.

"Yeah," he speaks in a vaguely aggressive manner, "Why would I keep track of your gun?"

"I didn't say you did, I'm just asking if you might know where I could've put it," Mark defends himself.

"Well, I don't," Donghyuck hisses as he drops his spoon in his bowl and lets the handle clink loudly against the side.

"Okay, okay," the black haired man tries to calm him down.

He then determines he needed a better way to find out about the bloody rock than to ask Donghyuck directly. If he was getting moderately aggressive with him for asking something as simple and harmless as the whereabouts of one of his possessions, surely he was going to be difficult to speak with in general.

"Have you been able to chop any wood, recently? The weather is starting to get colder, and we'll need it, soon," Mark asks cautiously as he skirts around his real question.

"I'll have to remember to do that," Donghyuck murmurs as he leans back in his chair.

"So you haven't chopped any, recently?"

Donghyuck narrows his eyes slightly at Mark and tilts his head.

"You seem to be full of questions, today," he mentions.

"I was just wondering," Mark tries to ease his suspicions, "Like I said, we need it. If you haven't been doing it, then I'll have to."

Donghyuck stares silently, unmoving even just a fraction of an inch. Mark nearly begins to squirm under his intense gaze, but keeps a hold on his bearings until Donghyuck finally breaks, first.

"Well, I'm done eating, so I'll just go do that now," he announces as he scoots his chair back and stands from his seat.

"Wait, what?" Mark speaks in a confused manner, "But you haven't even touched your food!"

Donghyuck shrugs.

"I'm not hungry."

Mark feels his chest slowly fill with cement as he glances from Donghyuck's bowl to him. His stomach turns over and makes him feel incredibly sick.

"Hyuck...why haven't you been eating, lately?" he asks quietly, "Y-you're not...you're not refusing to eat, again...are you?"

"Excuse me?" Donghyuck asks with his voice conveying his offense so clearly that it makes Mark wince.

"Baby...if something's wrong, you can tell me. Please..."

"Nothing's wrong with me! Nothing's wrong at all! Let it go, and don't you ever bring that up, again!" Donghyuck screams before storming towards the front door with heavy steps. He thrashes it open and slams it loudly behind him with a thunderous bang.

Mark sits alone at the dining table, feeling his chest constrict at the thought of Donghyuck being unwell, but there was nothing he could do if he refused his help. He begins to wonder what might've triggered Donghyuck, but, again, if he refuses to open up and discuss such things with Mark, he could not help him. This fact worries Mark endlessly.

He spends the next several minutes mulling over how he could talk to Donghyuck and get him to know he cares without upsetting him further. He comes to the conclusion that, for now, all he can do is provide his love and support and hope that, soon enough, he would open up to him, again.


	7. silhouette

Mark sits on the steps of the porch, deep in thought as the wind howls and crickets chirp. There's a chill that causes him to shiver, but he pays it no mind. Much more pressing thoughts fill his head. Mark stares unblinkingly at the rickety shed for several moments as he wonders about it. Why was it so important that he stay away from it? When did he promise Donghyuck that he would? Why did he promise that he would? None of it made sense, and the lack of answers bothers him immensely. It drives him to the brink of insanity. Even worse is the fact Donghyuck gets irrationally angry with him for asking such questions. Trying to prod for answers seems to bring out the worst in Hyuck, and he suppressed his efforts to keep something from him.

But what?

Mark suddenly hears a twig crunch in the distance, alerting him to the presence of a figure a ways away. The silhouette peeks out behind a tree, causing Mark to feel his stomach tie in tight knots at the sight of it. Still, something about the figure feels as if it's presence beckons him to follow. So, despite his better judgement, Mark stands from his seat on the porch steps and begins cautiously approaching the silhouette.

As he nears the figure, it darts off in the opposite direction. Mark picks up his speed instantly as he follows the thing further into the forest, struggling to navigate through a sea of trees.

The last Mark sees of the figure is when it stands in front of a river, then vanishes behind a small cluster of trees. Mark approaches the area, expecting to find the source of the silhouette, but instead, he is met with the horrific sight of two rotting corpses lying just beside the river. Mark screams in utter terror at the revolting, bewildering sight.

The bodies are lying within a few feet of each other, their flesh has begun to deteriorate and rot in several areas. The skin itself has a greenish-yellow tint that appears sickly, their eyes are a milky white colour where the irises and pupils should be, and a strange, black substance slowly drips from their mouths and noses like sap dripping slowly from a tapped tree. Both individuals appear to have bullet holes in their head: one has one directly in the centre of their forehead, the other has it in the side of their head.

At first glance, Mark doesn't recognize the two, but the longer he stares at the bodies and takes notice of a familiar-looking engagement ring, the truth slowly settles in:

The bodies belonged to the couple that owned the cabin.

Mark throws himself at a nearby tree, leaning against it for support as he quite suddenly projectile vomits onto the ground. His body shakes uncontrollably as he can feel himself on the verge of remembering something. A detail, an event, something.

"What are you doing out all alone in the woods at night?" a calm voice asks from behind Mark.

He startles and leaps into the air. Mark turns around to find Donghyuck standing with his hands behind his back. He frowns deeply in a sort of displeased manner that oddly terrifies Mark.

"Th-the own-ners. Dongh-hyuck, what the f-fuck hap-pended to th-them?" Mark stammers out as he feels fear clawing away at his soul and weakening his body.

Donghyuck glances towards the corpses, but makes no change in expression. He is largely unfazed by it.

"I don't know, but that's really sad," he says lifelessly, "Come back inside the cabin. It's not safe to be out here."

"N-not safe?"

"Yes, there are...animals...wild animals lurking around at night. If you don't come inside, they could attack at any moment. The last thing we need is for you to be attacked by a vicious animal without any sort of weapon to protect yourself," Donghyuck explains.

"B-but-"

"Come on," Donghyuck urges as he extends his hand out for Mark to take. Though every fibre of Mark's being tells him to run away and don't look back, he slowly places his hand in Donghyuck's and lets him lead him back to the cabin.


	8. determined

Mark largely keeps to himself the majority of the day. Donghyuck would occasionally ask him why he's so quiet or if he was okay, but Mark would hastily pass it off as him being tired from a lack of sleep the night before. Part of Mark feels bad for lying, but he knows that telling Donghyuck what was on his mind would either stir up trouble or put him in danger.

The truth was: Mark no longer trusted Donghyuck.

The more he thinks about Donghyuck's strange behaviour, the disturbing finds he made, and the inexplicable occurrences that were happening, the more he believed Donghyuck was involved in whatever was going on.

The most logical conclusion Mark found himself piecing together was that Donghyuck murdered the previous owners of the cabin using his gun. He did not know how exactly it happened or why he did it, nor did he know why their bodies were far away from the bloodied axe and rock, but something told Mark that the owners might not be the only people he's killed. What if Donghyuck was storing the bodies inside the shed, leaving them to rot in there while keeping Mark in a state of ignorance? But he had known Donghyuck for nearly ten years. He never once showed any signs of being a violent person. Maybe that's what he wanted him to believe...

No matter what, Mark knew he needed to check the shed. There was a reason Donghyuck wanted him to stay inside and far away from it, and he was determined to find out.

So there Mark stands, just in front of the door to the cabin. He takes a deep, shaky breath as he mentally prepares himself to find out what was being hidden away in the shed.

Mark slowly opens the door, glancing repeatedly towards the hallway that leads into his and Hyuck's room as he prays that the tanned man doesn't hear and come running to stop him. He slips through and shuts the door quietly behind him. He clicks on his flashlight and aims it directly towards the shed. He examines the boards for a moment before jogging down the porch steps. Instead of heading towards it, Mark takes a turn and races to get to the axe beside the wood pile.

As Mark approaches the wood pile, he expects the axe to be—at the very least—beside one of the piles. But it wasn't. It was in the same exact spot Mark had last seen it. It appeared to have not even been touched. Mark feels his stomach sink, though he's not fully certain why. He hastily picks up the axe in his free hand and takes off in the direction of the shed. Leaves and twigs crunch loudly beneath his feet, but he pays it no mind. He was dead set on getting into the shed as fast as possible, and nothing was going to stop him.

As Mark reaches the shed, he comes to a halt. He takes another glance at the boards and finds that they are crudely nailed to the doorframe. He can tell that effort was put in, but surely he could manage to use the blade of the axe to help pry it open.

Mark drops his flashlight and jams the blade between the top board and the right side of the frame. He begins using all of his strength to yank at the wood and knock the nails loose. After several pulls of the axe's handle, the board breaks free on one side. Mark tosses the axe to the ground and gets a good grip on the board. In one strained pull, the piece of wood crackles and is torn form the doorframe. Mark tosses it aside without any care for where it lands. It hits the ground with a heavy thump, and Mark hastily grabs the axe to get working on the second board.

Upon prying the second off, Mark throws it and picks up both the axe and the flashlight at once. Whatever was inside, he wasn't about to face it, unprepared. Mark reaches for the right handle and cautiously pulls open the corresponding door he opens a gap wide enough to step inside and enters, pointing the beam of light directly in front of him.

The light lands on a sight Mark would never expect to see in a million years. He brings his hands to his mouth in horror as he drops both the axe and the flashlight. Mark lets out an ear-piercing scream as his sanity instantly plummets into oblivion.


	9. broken

_"Mark!" Donghyuck shrieks at the top of his lungs from a little ways down the river._

_Mark spins around just before a woman with sickly grey skin, milky white eyes, and matted, disheveled hair approaches him. The woman snarls as she tries to grab for Mark's throat. He punches her directly in the nose, knocking her back as she lets out a deafening screech. A man in a similar state as the woman charges directly towards them both, though Mark is too preoccupied with the woman coming at him as well._

_The woman knocks Mark to the ground and begins chomping her teeth with loud clacks at him as a black, tar-like substance coats her teeth and begins to slowly drip from her nose. The putrid smell of rotting flesh and blood fill Mark's nose, nearly causing him to vomit in his mouth as he struggles to keep the woman's mouth at a distance. He uses one hand to grip her jaw and push her face back while he uses his other to reach for his handgun that he had in his holster. He struggles to focus on both at once, but finally manages to get a grip and remove it. He hastily cocks the gun and puts it against the woman's forehead. Without a single moment's hesitation, Mark pulls the trigger. A loud bang sounds out, and the black substance spurts out of the back of her head as she goes limp. Mark pushes the woman off of him and leaps to his feet._

_Mark turns and finds Donghyuck trying his best to fight off the man, but he's pinned against a tree with his throat in the man's grasp. He takes sputtered breaths, struggling to breathe. Mark hastily fumbles with his gun and cocks it once again. He aims for the man's head and fires off, but it misses. The man hisses as he glances towards Mark as if his attention had been diverted, but Donghyuck kicks at his leg. Their attention returns to him, and Donghyuck tries his best to shove them off of him once again._

_Mark hurries closer to the two as he tries again at preparing the gun. He gets close enough to the man to aim much better. Mark pulls the trigger and the man instantly drops to the ground._

_Donghyuck gasps loudly as he drops to his knees. Mark practically throws himself to the ground as he checks in on him. Hyuck shakes violently as choked sobs escape past his lips._

_"Are you okay?" Mark inquires as he places his hands on either side of the crying man's face._

_When he doesn't answer, he scans his eyes over Hyuck to ensure he was unscathed. His eyes land on Donghyuck clutching onto his arm, holding it close to his chest. Mark feels his stomach twist into knots, making him unbearably nauseous. He reaches for his arm, but Hyuck jerks away._

_"N-no!" he weeps._

_"Hyuck? What happened?"_

_Donghyuck begins to cry harder, and with a heavy heart, Mark pulls his arm towards him. He glances down at it, finding a bite mark coated in the same black substance that both the man and woman had._

_Mark feels his world instantly come crashing down on him in that moment._

_"Come...come on...let's get you cleaned up," Mark murmurs, as his brain refuses to process what had happened._

••••

_Mark swings the axe down onto the log, striking it with a loud crack and splitting it into two. He notices something in his peripheral vision and looks up to get a better look._

_Donghyuck stands near the cabin, and although he looks fine, something felt completely and utterly wrong. He squints his eyes a bit and tries to look closer, but when he does, he notices a black liquid slowly dripping from Hyuck's nose. In that moment, Mark's heart stops._

_Before he can get a grip on his bearings, Donghyuck comes charging at him, screaming at the top of his lungs in a sort of bellow. Mark swings the axe to try and scare Hyuck into backing off, but he doesn't._

_"Donghyuck!" Mark cries out as if doing so would bring him to his senses, but it doesn't._

_He grabs ahold of Mark's arm and jerks him forward. Though Mark knows he could easily throw Donghyuck to the ground and stop him, he can't find it in himself to fight back and risk hurting him. He refused to hurt him. Unfortunately, this gives Donghyuck the upper hand._

_Donghyuck yanks the axe out of Mark's hands and begins swinging with reckless abandon._

_"Donghyuck! Please! Stop!" he pleads as he backs away, but the violent man does not stop. He swings once more, this time swinging low and slicing into Mark's shin. Mark cries out in pain as he collapses. As he hits the ground, his head slams into a nearby rock, knocking him out cold in an instant._

_••••_

_Mark slowly comes to, realizing he's inside the rickety old shed that was being used to store tools. He hears Donghyuck's muffled sobs and instantly feels his heart shatter to bits._

_"Donghyuck?" he speaks out as intense pain makes his head ache._

_He pulls himself onto his hands and knees and notices Donghyuck sitting beside the wall, a few feet away from him. His knees are tucked into his chest as his hands cover his face. He lowers them and reveals his pale, greying face. His eyes are slowly draining of colour, becoming cloudy and white._

_"Mark...please..." he says in an incredibly broken voice, "k-kill me."_

_"What?" Mark exclaims in horror, "No! Why would you ever ask me to do that?"_

_"If you d-don't, it'll just g-get worse," he weeps, "I w-won't be able t-to snap out o-of it next t-time. I d-don't wanna h-hurt you ag-gain."_

_Mark feels tears prick his eyes. He wants to keep telling him no, but deep down he knows that they don't have much longer. The infection was spreading rapidly, and it was only a matter of days before he wouldn't be the same man Mark practically grew up with. He would hardly be a man at all._

_Mark's chest pangs, causing him to clutch at it._

_"Don't make me...please..." he begs._

_"Y-you have to," Donghyuck cries._

_Mark squeezes his eyes shut, forcing tears to fall down his cheeks. He takes a moment to gather his bearings before he reaches for his holster. He hesitantly pops the button on it and slides it out. Tears cloud his vision, forcing him to cock the gun solely based on feel alone. He raises the gun and places the barrel against Hyuck's forehead._

_"I'm so sorry," he whispers weakly, "I love you."_

_"I love you, too," Donghyuck replies, causing Mark to shut his eyes once more._

_Mark's hand shakes as he pulls the trigger, and with a loud bang and a disgusting splatter sound, it was done. Mark drops his gun and begins to sob uncontrollably. He screams loudly in agony as he feels his heart obliterated to dust._

_The love of his life was dead, and the only thing he could do was blame himself._

_As he continues to cry, a soft whisper comes to him like a sweet melody. It tells him to board up the shed and vow to never enter inside it again._

_••••_

_As midnight slowly approaches, Mark finishes hammering in the last nail. He nearly startled at the feeling of a hand rest on his shoulder. He spins on his heel, prepared to swing. Instead of doing so, he drops it._

_"Donghyuck?" he whispers._

_"C'mon, Mark, it's getting late. You need sleep," the tanned man whimpers, "I'm tired."_

_Mark's eyes scan him up and down, disbelieving what his eyes were showing was right in front of him._

_"B-but you're-you're-"_

_"I'm what?"_

_"You're dead."_

_"What are you talking about? I've been out trying to gather twigs for kindling. I'm not dead," Donghyuck tilts his head in confusion._

_"I...I..."_

_"What happened to your head?" Donghyuck gasps as he jerks Mark's head to the side and takes a look at it._

_"I...I fell and landed on a rock..." he murmurs._

_"Mark! You're supposed to be careful!" he hisses irritably._

_"I...I'm sorry," Mark responds in a daze, feeling confused and uncertain of what happened and what was currently going on._

_"You must've hit it really hard and had a nightmare. Tsk. Let's go inside and get you fixed up," Donghyuck tries to reason what happened._

_"Y-yeah...yeah, that's it," Mark mumbles._

_Donghyuck begins dragging him away. Mark glances back at the boarded up shed, slowly beginning to question his sanity. The more he tries to recall what happened, the less clarity he has. He looks back towards Donghyuck and begins trying to convince himself that it clearly didn't happen. If it had, Donghyuck wouldn't be here..._

_Right?_


	10. with you

Mark's chest heaves as he struggles to get in a proper breath of air. Tears flood down his face as he drops to his knees in front of Donghyuck's rotting corpse. The memories come crashing over him like violent waves trying to drown him in his own devastation, and they don't cease to persist.

"You should have kept your promise to yourself," Mark hears Donghyuck's soft voice speaks to him from the entrance of the shed, "Come with me, Mark...you can forget this ever happened. You can live in ignorance once more. We can be happy..."

"N-no...you're n-not real," Mark stammers out through hiccuped breaths, refusing to look away from Hyuck's lifeless body.

"I'm real to you," Donghyuck responds.

"I-I can't..."

"Why not?"

"I'll only g-go back t-to wond-dering what h-happened if I f-forget," Mark explains, "I c-can't ke-ep liv-ing like th-this."

"What do you mean?" Donghyuck questions him as Mark reaches for his gun. He checks the chamber and finds one last bullet inside.

"Don't you dare. I'm here to comfort you and bring you peace so you can go on. Don't do this," Donghyuck pleads.

Mark shakes his head slowly, refusing to hear Donghyuck out. His mind was made up, and nothing he could say would stop him.

"I'm s-sorry, baby...I'll be w-with you soon."

–End–


End file.
